You Won't Know Til You Dry

Thinking of dipping your toes in the waters of sobriety? You are not alone, as Lorraine Kearney discovers

- Lorraine Kearney

It’s a new year, and time for a new adventure. There are several ways to kick things off after the excesses of the festive season: join a gym, join a sewing circle, take up walking, go cold water swimming, sign up for Veganuary and eschew meat for the month. Or have a go at sober curious.

It’s become quite the thing, a worldwide movement to quit alcohol. Or perhaps not quit it forever, but certainly drink more mindfully. It involves questioning your relationship with alcohol and considering sobriety, even if you’re not ready for complete abstinence.

Curious about the reasons you want to drink and the way alcohol affects your life, your physical and mental wellness? It could be for you.

It all began, many say, in 2018 when Ruby Warrington, a British writer, published her book, Sober Curious. In 2020, she published The Sober Curious Reset, telling readers how to apply sober curious philosophy to their life. And it has a 100-day process of rethinking your drinking.

Millie Gooch, the British founder of Sober Girl Society, has said ‘sober curious’ is a purposefully ambiguous phrase because it includes all kinds of grey-area drinkers. For some, being sober curious means being more mindful of when and why they’re drinking. Others cut down on drinking or abstain for extended periods, and still others stop drinking completely.

Sober Girl Society was established ‘to show the world that you can still live a fun and fulfilled life without alcohol’, it says on its website. It also says it’s ‘the largest community for sober and sober curious women around the planet, providing tips, resources and events for anyone who wants to drink less or give up entirely’.